This time it's AutoBlog.com doing the reviewing, and their take on the US Spec Mitsubishi i-miev, called the Mitsubishi i in the US, is a little more positive than some of the others.
A common thread amongst the Mitsubishi i reviews is that the car feels cheap inside and doesn't handle or feel as nice as the Nissan Leaf or the Chevrolet Volt - it's like the reviewers forget that the Mitsubishi i is $7K to $15K cheaper than those vehicles, and unlike the Leaf supply problems, the Mitsubishi i is basically available now (the Mitsubishi i is supposed to be released in the next month or so, and when it is I don't predict the supply problems that Nissan has had with the Leaf since Mitsubishi is already selling the i-Miev in other parts of the world and has been for almost 2 years).
Autoblog says there are 2 things about the Mitsubishi i that should help it sell well in the US - it looks like nothing else on the road right now, and the Mitsubishi i is also way more fun than the jellybean shape implies.
Autoblog drove the Mitsubishi i-Miev a while back, and now they can compare that experience to driving the US spec Mitsubishi i - and they like the changes! The Mitsubishi i is 8 inches longer and 4 inches wider, has side curtain airbags, and has an electronic control unit calibrated specifically for the US market.
Autoblog also says the US spec Mitsubishi i is much quicker than the Mitsubishi i-Miev, not quick like the Tesla Roadster, but the Mitsubishi i can get out of it's own way on the highway and darting around a city.
While MotorTrend called the Mitsubishi i's "B" driving mode too jerky because of the extra regenerative braking power, AutoBlog says the B mode is the most fun giving the driver a connection to the car similar to that of a manual transmission.
For tons more detail and in depth review of the Mitsubishi i, here's the full autoblog review:
http://www.autoblog.com/2011/10/26/2012-mitsubishi-i-first-drive-review/
A common thread amongst the Mitsubishi i reviews is that the car feels cheap inside and doesn't handle or feel as nice as the Nissan Leaf or the Chevrolet Volt - it's like the reviewers forget that the Mitsubishi i is $7K to $15K cheaper than those vehicles, and unlike the Leaf supply problems, the Mitsubishi i is basically available now (the Mitsubishi i is supposed to be released in the next month or so, and when it is I don't predict the supply problems that Nissan has had with the Leaf since Mitsubishi is already selling the i-Miev in other parts of the world and has been for almost 2 years).
Autoblog says there are 2 things about the Mitsubishi i that should help it sell well in the US - it looks like nothing else on the road right now, and the Mitsubishi i is also way more fun than the jellybean shape implies.
Autoblog drove the Mitsubishi i-Miev a while back, and now they can compare that experience to driving the US spec Mitsubishi i - and they like the changes! The Mitsubishi i is 8 inches longer and 4 inches wider, has side curtain airbags, and has an electronic control unit calibrated specifically for the US market.
Autoblog also says the US spec Mitsubishi i is much quicker than the Mitsubishi i-Miev, not quick like the Tesla Roadster, but the Mitsubishi i can get out of it's own way on the highway and darting around a city.
While MotorTrend called the Mitsubishi i's "B" driving mode too jerky because of the extra regenerative braking power, AutoBlog says the B mode is the most fun giving the driver a connection to the car similar to that of a manual transmission.
For tons more detail and in depth review of the Mitsubishi i, here's the full autoblog review:
http://www.autoblog.com/2011/10/26/2012-mitsubishi-i-first-drive-review/
